When Jennifer Moss joined me on the Transform Your Workplace podcast to discuss her newest book, Why Are We Here? Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants, I knew we were in for a powerful conversation. What I didn’t expect was just how timely and vital her message would feel—especially now, as so many organizations struggle to rebuild morale, meaning, and motivation.
Jennifer describes the genesis of this book as less of a structured plan and more of a “meandering project of discovery.” The question at its core—why are we here?—came not from a single moment, but from hundreds of conversations. During her travels after writing The Burnout Epidemic, she began casually asking Uber drivers about their lives. The responses, often emotional and vulnerable, reflected a broader shift she was seeing across society.
People weren’t just quitting jobs. They were rethinking everything.
One woman, on track to become the first Black female partner at her firm, walked away after losing three family members during the pandemic. Others left Wall Street or C-suites behind to pursue something—anything—that felt more meaningful. Moss links this to what psychologists call “mortality salience,” a global confrontation with the fragility of life that triggered an urgent desire for purpose. As she puts it, “If life is short, I better fix it.”
This isn’t just anecdotal. It’s a pattern. And for organizations trying to retain talent, build community, and adapt to change, it’s a wake-up call.
From Toxic Productivity to Hope-Driven Cultures
Much of Moss’s previous work focused on burnout—and she doesn’t shy away from naming the forces that drive it. One concept she highlights is toxic productivity, the need to always be doing more, even when we’re collapsing under the weight of it. She experienced it firsthand: writing a book in her pajamas with a glass of wine at 11 p.m., juggling parenting and a demanding workload. “There were zero boundaries,” she admitted. And many of us can relate.
But if toxic productivity is the problem, Moss believes hope is the antidote. “Hope feels nebulous,” she said, “but it’s one of the most important leadership skills we can cultivate.” Drawing from Gallup and Snyder’s Hope Theory, she explains that hope is built through clear goals, multiple pathways to achieving them, and the autonomy to move forward. Crucially, hope is future-focused—and without it, resilience and motivation don’t stand a chance.
Operationalizing Purpose
Purpose, Moss argues, isn’t just about aligning with a lofty mission statement. Most people don’t connect to those anyway. Instead, they want to feel that their day-to-day tasks matter. “Even in the best jobs,” she said, “there are boring things you have to do. But when you know how they connect to something bigger—or to your own values—that’s when it becomes meaningful.”
She urges leaders to create space for people to work on what they care about, whether it’s climate change, accessibility, or parenting. One example she loves is Microsoft’s approach to employee resource groups and cross-functional collaboration spaces. “It’s about belonging,” she said, “and that sense of mattering.”
Small Rituals, Big Impact
Some of the most compelling ideas from Jennifer’s book are surprisingly simple. She calls them “20-minute interventions.” A weekly non-work check-in. A shared lunch. Even spreading “positive gossip”—talking behind someone’s back in a kind way. These rituals create trust, psychological safety, and real connection, which are more vital than ever in hybrid and remote workplaces.
“You don’t need to laminate a new mission statement,” she said. “You just need to start asking better questions and testing small changes.”
Facing AI Anxiety with Compassion
Technology—and especially AI—is now the #1 driver of workplace change, according to the World Economic Forum. And with that comes anxiety. Moss urges leaders to acknowledge this and not brush it off. “We’re hearing terms like ‘mass extinction event’ from AI leaders,” she said. “No wonder people feel abject terror.”
Instead of making grand promises, she suggests grounding conversations in compassion: creating space for experimentation, helping people upskill, and delivering on the real promise of AI—to save time and elevate creativity. “If AI gives us efficiency, don’t just give people more work. Give them their time back.”
Flexibility is No Longer a Perk
One of Moss’s boldest claims in the book is that flexibility is no longer a benefit. Instead, it’s a basic right. This shift, she argues, has deep implications for leadership. “We gave people freedom, then we took it away,” she said. “And when you do that, people resist. It’s primal.”
She advocates for flexibility in all forms—not just remote work, but staggered hours, autonomy over shifts, and more inclusive policies for frontline and hourly workers. Mandates, especially return-to-office ones, often backfire. “The data doesn’t support the idea that people are less productive remotely,” she said. “But when we force it, we risk losing our best talent.”
Rethinking DEI—from Shame to Belonging
On the subject of DEI, Moss doesn’t mince words. “It’s not working the way we hoped,” she said. Part of the problem is that efforts are often reactive and downstream—focused on calling people out rather than inviting everyone into the conversation. She challenges leaders to move away from identity-based recognition and toward celebrating contributions universally.
For example, highlighting employees weekly for problems they’ve solved—without tying it to demographic labels—can foster a deeper sense of inclusion. “Belonging isn’t about boxes we check,” she said. “It’s about feeling seen for what we bring to the table.”
The Takeaway: Hope Is a Strategy
Jennifer Moss leaves us with a compelling message: culture doesn’t change overnight, but it also doesn’t require an overhaul. It starts with listening, experimenting, and making room for hope.
“You can make a difference in 20 minutes a week,” she said. “Ask the right questions. Celebrate small wins. Help people see that their work and their presence matters.”
If you’re leading a team right now, Why Are We Here? might be the most important book you read this year. It’s not just a response to burnout or disengagement—it’s a blueprint for building something better.
Brandon Laws is a workplace culture and leadership enthusiast, host of the Transform Your Workplace podcast, and VP of Marketing and Product at Xenium HR.